Tuesday night was not kind to the Democratic Party’s establishment, but it was a clear message from the antisemitic, pro-socialism wing of the party.
In Maryland, former House Speaker Nancy’s hand selected candidate for an open congressional seat lost to big(ger) money special interests.
In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s pool of socialists allies completed a clean sweep of three competitive primaries, including the ouster of the congressman who led President Donald Trump’s first impeachment.
Del. Adrian Boafo, 32, won the nomination for retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer’s deep-blue Maryland seat. He defeated former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, the candidate Pelosi had personally chosen for the position.
Pelosi’s endorsement of Dunn was itself a notable break. Hoyer, who served alongside Pelosi in House Democratic leadership from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023, had himself chosen Boafo as his successor.
Boafo’s campaign was boosted by more than $10 million in donor spending from the crypto-aligned super PAC Protect Progress, according to The Washington Post. He also had the institutional backing of Hoyer, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, and Maryland’s largest teachers union.
Not even Pelosi could overcome that wall of cash.
While Pelosi’s pick was losing in Maryland, Mamdani’s socialist red wave was sweeping across New York City.
Democratic Socialists of America member Claire Valdez defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso for the open seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez in New York’s 7th District.
“Tonight we haven’t just won an election,” Valdez said after declaring victory. “We have declared this movement is durable, that it is growing, and that it will not stop until working people are no longer asked to just build the table — but will run the table.”
In Upper Manhattan and the West Bronx, socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier, a primary challenger backed by Mamdani and the woke Justice Democrats, unseated sitting Rep. Adriano Espaillat.
The most stunning result came in Brooklyn’s 10th District, where Brad Lander — Mamdani’s former mayoral rival, now his ally — ousted Rep. Dan Goldman, the Democrat who served as lead counsel during Trump’s first impeachment trial.
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, one of the few moderate Democrats left, didn’t hold back when CNN asked him about the results.
“The dirtbag left is surging,” Fetterman warned. “Hating on Israel, and essentially antisemitism, has become like the center of a lot of these primaries across the country, and definitely that we’re witnessing in New York City.”
“You have these kinds of candidates that are actively trying to cram as much anti-Israel, and essentially antisemitism, into their platform, and now these are the kinds of people that are winning right now,” Fetterman warned.
He called it “the dancing days of the dirtbag left.”
Indeed, the very socialist party that Pelosi helped nurture is now dancing on her legacy’s grave.